'They just never, ever give up': Martin Regan hails his Naomh Conaill warriors

The Letterkenny night was pitch black when illuminated by the flashing lights and beeping horns of a triumphant Naomh Conaill cavalcade headed for the journey over Meenaroy, armed again with the Dr Maguire Cup.

They had to reach into their own darkness here, having been seven points down at half-time, but they have long been known as a team that doesn’t know when they’re beaten.

Sunday’s Donegal SFC final showed Naomh Conaill at their most defiant.

Trailing 1-10 to 0-6 at the break, there were little signs that they would add to their haul of silverware.

And yet, here they are: Champions again after a rousing comeback, completed in extra time.

“The way they dug it out there, just unbelievably proud of them, so, so proud of them,” said Naomh Conaill manager Martin Regan after leading his team to a sixth title under his watch.

“They just never, ever give up, and you just know that they'll fight to the very end. Always. They always do, always, always do, and that makes it just a bit more exciting.

“They just keep fighting. They keep battling, keep battling, keep battling and they will not give up. I know we're sick saying it at this stage, but they will keep battling if there's a game to be won. 

“We always feel that we can come out the right side of it. You don't always, but thankfully we managed to scrape the draw there and we thought we played really really well the first half of extra time. We kicked on and we were excellent for those 10 minutes - and it was the best 10 minutes we played.”

They had needed Shea Malone, back this year from a spell at Sligo Rovers, to nail a splendid and inspirational two-pointer in the depths of normal time.

The green smoke was already billowing by then, some young Gaoth Dobhair followers behind the goal believing their moment was imminent.

A Kevin McGettigan goal in the second-half acted as a spur for Naomh Conaill, who then moved ahead - for the first time all afternoon - when John O’Malley pointed from a mark early in extra time.

Max Campbell, the 18-year-old tipped as the next big prospect to come around on the conveyor at Davy Brennan Memorial Park, netted a goal to really give his side the grasp.

Ethan Harkin scored a pair of two pointers in the second half of extra time before a late free, from beyond the ’45, was just a little out of his range.

Regan said: “We were kind of hanging on there at the end and Ethan had the free as well which thankfully dropped short. It was a hard kick. But it's one of them days that you just felt it was gonna drop over again and have another day out, but we survived it. 

“We missed a lot of opportunities. We just knew we'd keep creating them chances and if we could eat into that lead - if we get that seven down to four - the confidence would grow as well.

“It's just the attitude of the players. We find ourselves in these situations so many times, going down the line, and something we do, always refer back to, if the game's there, we only have 10 minutes, there's only one team coming out on top.

“It doesn't always happen, but we have that confidence in ourselves, and that belief in ourselves, that we will keep going until the final whistle. If that's five or six minutes into an injury time, so be it; we'll go to that stage, and we won't die. It’s not always going to work for you, but we'll just keep fighting, keep battling.”

It is 20 years now since a 16-year-old Leo McLoone played when Naomh Conaill got the better of St Eunan’s to make their big breakthrough. McLoone, Brendan McDyer and Anthony Thompson were in the class of 2005 and are still star students.

Regan remarked how McLoone was “immense” and “awesome going on dirty ball and kick-outs”.

As much as those trio contributed, Regan was also keen to mention the new crop: Malone who defied his years with that monster kick at the end of normal time; Campbell who scored 1-1 in injury time; and GAA Young Footballer of the Year Finnbarr Roarty, who was named Man of the Match.

The manager said: “There's loads of talent coming through in Naomh Conall and it's great to see that they're stepping up.

“They're feeding off the older lads as well, so it's brilliant. It hasn't been easy with the rule changes, there's so many changes, but the boys adapt the way they always do.”

That they did so without the injured Ciaran Thompson was impressive enough, but Jeaic Mac Ceallabhui also sat out having pulled up in the warm-up.

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Written off again in 2025 - the new rules, it was said, would be their downfall this year - Naomh Conaill stand once more atop the tree in Donegal.

Regan said: “We've been written off and a lot of people would have been saying it all year through that the change wouldn't suit us, but the boys just keep it up and they find a way to win games - whatever it takes to find a way to win them games - and they did again today.

“They're all special. There's no championship we've ever won that you couldn't say hasn't been special. They're all really really special and today's right up there.”